Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 9.5.25
Dear members and friends of our parish family,
As we pray for so many of our children and teachers returning to school, we also find ourselves in the Church beginning to return to the pews following summer vacations and visits away. How dear the concept of homecoming. And in a couple of weeks, we’ll welcome back our boys and girls choirs which will be a sweet and deep blessing. How they tend to grow up through the summer!
Our Gospel passage and sermon text for this Sunday is the teaching on the cost of discipleship followed by two very short parables on making decisions (Luke 14:25-33). St. Luke’s words on discipleship are very strong and even a bit shocking to the casual ear, but they offer deepest grace once context, thought, and a bit of study are applied. And these two short parables offer common sense wisdom that is as relative today as in the day of Our Lord. Come and see!
This week our musicians offer a special prelude, Mein Freund ist Mein (My Friend is Mine) from Cantata 140. It is a beautiful love duet between Christ, the baritone, and the Soul, a soprano. We welcome Bill Gross back this week who joins Berit Johnson to sing this beautiful duet. We will sing the first hymn, Praise the Lord Through Every Nation, which uses the tune of Wachet Auf! (Sleepers Wake!), which is the title of the Cantata. The Summer Choir will sing Day by Day by Martin Howe and text by Richard of Chichester. Claudia will play a concerto by Vivaldi, that Bach was so inspired by, that he transcribed it to be played on the organ.
Sadly, we learned of the death of Gladys Guiadeen, a long time member of the parish. Gladys used to enjoy carrying the cross for our Lenten Stations of the Cross and was a faithful worker and participant in parish life. Click here for the funeral information. May her rest be this day in peace and her dwelling place in the Paradise of God.
Join us this coming Sunday evening, September 7 at 6 pm, for the first concert in A Celebration Year of Esmeralda, honoring our newly donated 1888 Steinway piano “Esmeralda” now at home in the Houghton Hall Arts Community. This special cabaret evening features performers from the Church of the Transfiguration and the Houghton Hall Arts Community, sharing songs and stories inspired by New York City. An elegant night of music, memory, and celebration. Get your tickets here. Tickets: $5 Advance / $10 at the door. The cabaret will be held in the Fred and Adele Astaire Ballroom in Houghton Hall Arts Community (enter at 22 East 30th Street).
Our Spanish mass will be returning to the third Sunday of the month at 5:00pm beginning September 21st. This seemed to be a more popular date for many of our Spanish speaking parishioners.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the Glorious mysteries.
We continue to live-stream each Sunday’s mass at 11:00am, and a link is sent out each Sunday morning at 8:00am. We live-stream on Facebook and YouTube. Please email parishoffice@littlechurch.org if you would like to pray the morning and evening offices with us by Zoom.
Thank you for your continued faith, support, and love for the parish.
Fides Opera
With loving wishes,
Fr. van Dooren